Did you know that the Howrah Bridge, better known as the Rabindra Setu today, was originally a pontoon bridge? Read on to know many more such fascinating details about the Rabindra Setu.

Rabindra Setu, an iconic bridge (by Shubhankar.sengupta19)

The Howrah Bridge is also known as Rabindra Setu. The term was officially coined as a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, the iconic and legendary literary figure of West Bengal. Rabindra Setu is flanked by two other sister bridges-- Vidyasagar Setu and Vivekananda Setu. These two bridges are situated at different sides of the Hooghly River stretch that runs below the bridges.

Rabindra Setu-- a cantilever truss bridge model (by Songkran)

Rabindra Setu is a cantilever truss bridge, designed in the pattern of a modern engineering model that came up in the 19th and 20th centuries. The bridge was constructed using cantilevers, horizontal support structures, which are supported on only one end employing small triangular units which construct one unit structure called a truss.

Rabindra Setu was the fourth cantilever bridge to be constructed at the time in 1942. It is one of the earliest modern bridges of this kind, others being the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and Forth Rail Bridge.

Calcutta Howrah Bridge - one of the busiest bridges in the world (by irisomnibus)

Rabindra Setu, originally called the Calcutta Howrah Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in the world. It was open to the public road traffic in the February of 1943. It is a frequently used route to reach the Howrah Station.The bridge is operative at all times of the day and accommodates a huge volume of traffic--buses, cars, autos, etc. A tram route used to operate on the bridge in the earlier days but doesn't anymore.

It is an important bridge with regard to daily commute and transportation (by ptwo)

The Howrah Bridge is crossed by a baffling 1,00,000 vehicles and 5,00,000 pedestrians everyday. This makes it one of the busiest bridges in the world. The bridge has eight lanes allotted to the movement of all kinds of vehicles.

The bridge connects the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah (by Ovjtphoto)

Rabindra Setu is the sixth longest cantilever bridge in the world, among some other beautiful bridges. It is 705 m long and stands on two pillars that are 270 m high. The central bridge area between the two ends of the main towers of the bridge is 457.2 m. It crosses the entire stretch of the Hooghly River in one span and is not supported by pylons at either end.

A closer view (by seaan)

Rabindra Setu, previously the Calcutta Howrah Bridge connects the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata. The cities were otherwise separated by the River Hooghly. The need to connect the two twin cities came about when then Calcutta was declared the capital of the East India Company in India.

A distant view of the bridge from the ferry (by oldandsolo)

The logistic link was imperative for the convenience of matters of trade and administration. Howrah earned the significance of the provider of raw materials, while Calcutta was flourishing as India’s headquarters of trade and commerce.

The bridge serves as an important logistic link (by Partha Sarathi Sahana)

In place of the present day Howrah Bridge, as we know it, there was a floating pontoon bridge. Sir Bradford Leslie was the civil engineer behind the project. It was set up in 1874, around the same time that the port of Calcutta was established, which was in 1870. The pontoon bridge, however, had to be unfastened everyday, to ensure the safe passage of boats and streamers during the night.

View from Rabindra Setu, visible at a distance is Vidyasagar Setu (by rhlchkrbrty)

With the expansion of commercial activity over time, however, this was not a convenient option anymore and a committee was set up to preside over a more sustainable bridge to be built in place of the pontoon bridge. This was a turn in the history of Calcutta.

Rabindra Setu lit up at night (by anirbanbiswas_c8)

The Kolkata Howrah Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in the world. It looks even more stunning at night, when it is all lit up. The fantastic play of the lights against the Hooghly simply adds to the charm of its picture-perfect frame. So when you visit, do remember to share a picture or two.

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